Mavis Staples With The Staple Singers, "Crying In The Chapel" c/w "Nothing Lasts Forever," Epic 5-10339 (rel. 5/17/1968)
The contributions of Black musicians to American culture cannot be understated. Yet certain regressive members of our society seek to strip Black people of their civil rights--and of their human-ness. Though these cruel monsters are in power at present, they are on the wrong side of history and will be regarded as the Nazi movement of the Ku Klux Klan are considered--abberations of the dark, ignorant and brutal side of mankind.
When the high court dismantled the Voting Rights Act of 1965, with the head justice insisting that racism wasn't an issue any longer (amongst other gobbledegook in his word-salad opinion of, as a friend noted, malicious naivete), I sensed the pain of generations in the air. So many people of all cultures struggled, died, were imprisoned or beaten in their noble attempt to better mankind--and all that blood, sweat and tears were reduced to ashes with the court's brutal decision. It was a horrific day--I've not recoved from it in full. I don't know if I can.
But I thought of today's record, and of the voice of Mavis Staples, and listened to this 1968 single. Its beauty and soul were a balm to me, and I hope these two sides will affect you in the same way.
The story of The Staple Singers is well-known and -documented, so I'll not do the usual biography. They'd made many great recordings before this 1968 Epic Records single. For the A-side, the country-gospel standard "Crying in the Chapel" receives a magnificent interpretation in a subdued, elegant arrangement. The song's story is one of those American roots-music sagas. It was written by Arthur Glenn, a Texas musician whose teenage son Darrell recorded it as the A-side of his second single for Valley Records. The song's spiritual message, couched in down-to-earth settings, and its soaring melody, clicked with the public. Glenn's original is a clean, pop-friendly performance, and may be heard HERE.
The song attracted multiple cover versions, including a Black vocal group hit by pioneering group The Ravens; in 1953 three other covers fought Glenn's original on the pop charts. Elvis Presley's version, recorded for a planned gospel album in 1960, didn't meet the singer's high personal standards, and was shelved. Five years later, his label exhumed the best take and issued it on a single. It zoomed to the Top 5--Elvis' first significant hit in three years--and can be seen as the catalyst for the revival his career would take in the late 1960s.
It's a song that speaks to people--even those who aren't religious. Mavis Staples' performance focuses on the spiritual part, to be sure, but also on the feeling of hope and aspiration: that there's something bigger and more important than the ugly pettiness of the political realm--as horrid in 1968 as it is now. An athiest could find succor in her rendition of this song. We all need some hope right now, and I hope you find hope in this recording.
The B-side of this single also seems prescient to right now. "Nothing Lasts Forever," with its killer hook and groove, reminds us that the worst shit will, in time, fade away. This song could do well as the campaign theme of whomever becomes the Democrat presidential candidate. Its message is short and sweet; the common temptation to repeat the final verse doesn't happen. Ninety-one seconds is enough for it to present its case and exit with grace.
Tomorrow: soulful one-record-wonders The Honeybirds deliver a pair of gritty girl-group goodies, via a Coral Records platter issued to silence in Beatle-mad 1964.
Love how Ms. Staple makes the two syllable chapel into a six or seven syllable wail. Love how it's the chorus that answers "Nothing Lasts Forever" to Ms. Staple declarations. What a joyful voice she had.
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